Conventionally, patients having an artificial anus, artifical bladder, digestive organ fistula, urinary fistula, tracheal fistula, injury or drainage by surgical treatment, wear a pouch on the skin around the opening, for example, around the excretion or exudation area. The pouch is affixed to the skin with the help of a sensitive adhesive plate so as to temporarily store the excretion or excudation in the pouch. The adhesive plate allows one to subsequently replace the pouch with a new one at a proper interval, such as when full.
However the circumferential area of the opening can have a complicated shape and it can be almost impossible to cut and attach the sensitive adhesive plate in a shape identical to that of the opening area so that a gap can be unavoidably created between the skin and the sensitive adhesive plate. The gap thus formed is likely to be exposed to excreted material or exudation resulting in a dermatitis or a skin irritation. In addition, the skin surface adjacent the opening is not consistently even, particularly because of the presence of an operative wound, hernia, depression or cicatrix, and as a result, the seal between the sensitive adhesive plate and the skin becomes irregular and uneven and causes leakage due to the inadequate sealing.
To solve these problems various paste compositions have been developed including karaya paste, such as BIOPLASTPASTE by ALCARE Co., prepared by making karaya gum into a paste-like state using polyhydric alcohol; a paste composition prepared by blending silica and hydrocolloids such as karaya gum, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), gelatin, pectin, and the like with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) containing alcohol in amounts of 50%, such as GANTREZ by GAF Corporation; and a paste comprising a mixture of water-absorbing granular hydrocolloid gum, colloidal silica, and a solution of a tacky film forming resin and an organic solvent, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 60-47856, corresponding to Great Britain Patent No. 2,062,663. These conventional paste compositions have been effective in filling the gap between the circumference of the body opening and the sensitive adhesive plate, in covering the skin exposed, and in flattening the area to which the sensitive adhesive plate is attached, thereby improving the sealing effect by smoothing the rough surface of the skin. All these paste compositions, however, contain an organic solvent, which irritates the skin, mucosa and/or the wound or injured area through the contact thereof and causes pain and discomfort. At best, the solvent related pain ceases when the organic solvent vanishes such as by evaporation, but in a worse case such compositions can eventually cause inflammation or dermatitis. In addition, these prior paste compositions are difficult to maintain in a proper paste-like fluid form. Treatments then must be done promptly because when the organic solvent contained therein evaporates, the paste viscosity increases and the composition becomes unworkable. Treatments thus must be repeated if the application of the paste is done unsatisfactorily or requires too much time, such as when applications involve complicated shapes or those applying the paste have inadequate experience. Also, the past compositions solidify at the outlet of the paste container, hindering easy handling and convenience upon subsequent use. Furthermore, once applied the prior paste compositions are difficult to remove smoothly, which results in a significant loss of time and increased pain to the patient.